World Toilet Day 2020

The drinking water plant which supplies the 152,700 inhabitants of the city of Orleans.

© RFI / Sayouba Traoré

By: Sayouba Traoré

2 min

On November 19, 2020, it was World Toilet Day, initiated by the United Nations, to raise awareness about these issues.

The issue of drinking water and sanitation is a serious public health problem that affects all countries.

Of course, the poorer we are, the more we are hit.

Publicity

Getting clean water is vital.

Likewise, throwing untreated wastewater back into nature forces us to live in a dangerous environment.

And the absence of latrines further complicates the situation, because human excreta carrying germs return to the water sources where the populations go to get supplies.

The drinking water plant which supplies the inhabitants of the city of Orleans.

© RFI / Sayouba Traoré

Some figures to locate the seriousness and the extent of the problem.

According to the WHO, 4.2 billion people in the world lack safe sanitation;

2 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces;

297,000 children under five die each year from diarrheal diseases, due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene or unsanitary drinking water.

Guest

: Marillys Macé

, Director General of the Water Information Center.

Production: Sayouba Traoré

Director: Ewa Piedel

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  • Environment

  • Water

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